Mudpie Interviews...Mona Lisa from Paula Darnell's Fine Art Mystery Series

Artist Amanda Trent, accompanied by her beloved golden retriever Laddie and her persnickety calico cat Mona Lisa, is determined to start a new life after her husband divorces her to marry a younger woman, but it isn’t easy.

After a disastrous interview at the prestigious Roadrunner Gallery in Lonesome Valley, Arizona, far away from her previous home in Kansas City, Amanda’s afraid that she’ll fail at her new career. But her prospects begin to improve when she’s accepted as the newest member of the cooperative gallery.

Then, on her very first day, she discovers Janice, the stern director, has been murdered right in the art gallery, and the Roadrunner’s members, including Amanda herself, become suspects. Which gallery member murdered the unpopular director? Or was the killer an outsider with an ax to grind?

Mudpie was very excited to have the opportunity to interview Mona Lisa, the feline star of this series. We hope you enjoy learning more about her!

Welcome, Mona Lisa! Thank you so much for chatting with me today. Could you start by telling us a little about yourself and how you came to live with Amanda?

Meowrrr! I'm a beautiful calico kitty—just ask my Mommy Amanda. She adopted me from an animal shelter when I was an abandoned kitten and now I rule the house. I like to hide from her sometimes or pretend I don't care what she's doing, but I'm only teasing.

What's a typical day like for you?

If Mommy doesn't wake up early, I like to pounce on her head. That usually does the trick. Then I get to have my breakfast; that's important. Mommy puts my food on one side of the kitchen and somebody else's (hint: there's a big dog in the house, too) on the other side, so he doesn't bother me. Whenever Mommy goes into her art studio to paint, I like to hang out on the top of my kitty tree where I can curl up and take a cat nap. It's a good spot to keep an eye on You-Know-Who because there's no way he can reach me. Nah, nah, nah, nah, nah!

Tell us about Artistic License to Kill, the new Fine Art Mystery you star in.

We moved to Lonesome Valley so Mommy could set up her own art studio and make her living from painting. She needed to get a new start in life after her husband divorced her (I guess he was having a mid-life crisis because he married his twenty-five-year-old assistant, and he's at least fifty, if he's a day). Anyway, things were going well in our new town, and Mommy got to join the Roadrunner Art Gallery so she had a great place to sell her paintings. (The more she sells, the more kitty treats for me.) Of course, life can't ever go too smoothly for long, and when Mommy went to the gallery for her first day, she and her friend Susan found the gallery director lying on the floor. Somebody had bashed her over the head with her own bronze sculpture. There's a lot more to the story, but you'll have to read Artistic License to Kill to find out what happened!

The book description calls you a persnickety calico. I'm a tortie myself and you may have heard we're known to have a bit of tortitude. Does your attitude ever get you into any trouble?

Who, me? Trouble? Surely you jest.

Who's the pup on the cover with you? Do you two get along?

Sigh! His name is Laddie, and he's a golden retriever. I have to share Mommy with him, which, honestly, is a bit much sometimes. Mostly, he leaves me alone because I like to show him who's boss. He doesn't even interfere when Mommy plays the feather toy game with me. He just lies there and watches. See? I told you I'm in charge!

Can you give us any clues as to what's next for you and Amanda?

Psst! I can tell you in confidence that Mommy's going to have another adventure. It's called Vanished into Plein Air, and you'll be able to read all about it very soon. In the meantime, I've arranged for a sneak peek of the cover and an excerpt from the first chapter if you go to https://www.pauladarnellauthor.com/2020/12/vanished-into-plein-air.html.

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